May 2022 Summaries

Angular GDE Todd Motto emphasizes the importance of discussing mental health openly, especially in the tech industry, highlighting his personal experiences with depression and anxiety. He advocates for maintaining both physical and mental well-being by balancing work, life, body, and mind, and suggests managing workload, taking regular breaks, and engaging in physical activities like running and swimming to boost concentration, sleep, and mood. Todd encourages choosing work projects wisely to avoid stress and to pay attention to one's internal state, believing that being in tune with one's body and mind is crucial for mental health maintenance. He underscores the value of incorporating personal challenges, whether physical or creative, as a means to achieve a balanced life, urging others to keep stress levels low by taking time for themselves.

Alice Keeler, a Google Workplace GDE, discusses the challenges and intricacies of balancing numerous responsibilities, highlighting how coding serves as a form of self-care amidst her busy life, which includes freelance programming work, publishing, and raising five children with mental health challenges. As an educator, she is passionate about using technology to support educational processes and improve mental well-being, particularly valuing tools like tablets and Chromebooks for their inclusive capabilities that benefit students with learning challenges. Alice underscores the importance of flexibility and understanding in dealing with mental health issues, both in her personal life and professional engagements, and finds the supportive community of Google Developer Experts encouraging as she continues to develop educational technology solutions. Her approach to technology is centered on streamlining tasks to reduce stress and enhance well-being, allowing her to be more present for her family while also nurturing her passion for coding as a creative and flexible outlet.

In Soweto, South Africa, lifelong friends Lesego Ndlovu and Simon Mokgotlhoa embarked on a journey to help local soccer players gain professional recognition by developing a web application called BallTalent. Motivated by their shared passion for technology and sports, they taught themselves coding through online resources like the Chrome Developers YouTube channel and utilized Google developer tools to create a Progressive Web App (PWA) that records and uploads local soccer games, allowing professional scouts to discover new talent. Their initiative not only placed in the top five of the Diageo Social Tech Startup Challenge but also fostered a local community of over 500 aspiring developers through their Google Developer Group (GDG) chapter in Soweto. As they work on the app's second version, Lesego and Simon continue to inspire and educate new developers in their community, leveraging Google's ecosystem to expand their impact across other sports.

The Google Developer Experts (GDE) program is a worldwide network of seasoned technology professionals, developers, and thought leaders who share their knowledge with broader tech communities through speaking engagements, mentorship, and content creation. This exclusive community is involved with a range of Google technologies, including Android, Cloud, and Machine Learning, providing insights and support to developers. By connecting with the GDE community, individuals can stay updated on Google's latest product developments and platform enhancements, with additional resources available through the Google Developers YouTube Channel.

The Google Cloud Startup Summit, scheduled for June 2, 2022, aims to connect the startup and venture capital communities with discussions on pertinent topics such as web3, investment trends, and cloud technology. The event features notable speakers including Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and Dapper Labs Co-founder Roham Gharegozlou, who will explore the impact of web3 on startups. A special VC AMA session will provide insights on investment strategies and the future of disruption in legacy industries. Additionally, announcements will be made about Google Cloud's initiatives to support startups, and attendees can learn from the growth experiences of companies like Discord, Swit, and Streak. The summit offers opportunities for interactive sessions with Google Cloud experts, providing a comprehensive platform for startups to gain valuable insights and network with industry leaders.

The discussion highlights efforts to empower women in technology through the experiences of Web Google Developer Experts (GDEs) such as Debbie O'Brien, Julia Miocene, and Glafira Zhur, who emphasize the significance of mentorship and community support. Programs like the Women Developer Academy (WDA) and Road to GDE, run by Google's developer communities, are instrumental in providing women with necessary soft skills, including public speaking and leadership, through workshops and mentoring. These initiatives aim to increase female representation in tech, where women account for a small percentage of keynote speakers and often find themselves as the only female panelist at conferences. The participants share personal journeys, highlighting the importance of confidence, networking, and collaborative learning from both successes and failures. The GDEs also stress the role of social media as a platform for sharing knowledge and inspiring others, while mentors find fulfillment in seeing mentees grow and achieve their goals, ultimately encouraging more women to pursue leadership roles in the tech community.

Wesley Chun's blog post, part of the Serverless Migration Station series, focuses on guiding Google App Engine developers in modernizing their serverless applications by transitioning from legacy APIs to standalone Cloud services for enhanced portability and flexibility. Specifically, Module 12 introduces the process of implementing App Engine's Memcache service within Flask applications as a preliminary step towards adopting Cloud Memorystore for in-cloud caching. The module demonstrates how integrating Memcache can optimize a Python 2 application by caching web page visits to reduce database queries and improve response times, setting the stage for eventual upgrades to Python 3, which no longer supports the webapp2 framework. This content is part of a broader effort to assist developers in updating older applications and adapting them to next-generation runtimes or other serverless platforms, with further guidance available through accompanying videos, codelabs, and open-source resources.

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Google Developer Studio highlights influential leaders within the AAPI community who contribute significantly to the tech industry and champion inclusivity programs such as Google Developer Experts and Google Developer Student Clubs. The theme for the year, "Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration," underscores the importance of mentorship, shared insights, and achievements among these leaders. Figures like Ben Hong, Taha Bouhsine, Huyen Tue Dao, Malak Magdy Ali, Margaret Maynard-Reid, and Aida Issayeva offer valuable advice for aspiring leaders, emphasizing the need for strong values, empathy, teamwork, continuous learning, and community engagement. These leaders share their experiences and the profound impact of community support, knowledge sharing, and collaborative problem-solving, which are pivotal in their professional growth and contributions to the tech ecosystem. Through their insights, the text highlights the power of mentorship and shared learning in fostering effective leadership and strengthening the community.

Google I/O 2022, held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, highlighted the evolving role of developers in creating dynamic, cross-platform digital experiences, emphasizing the importance of simplicity in managing increasing complexity and expectations. Key announcements included the ARCore Geospatial API for AR content placement in 87 countries, advancements in Modern Android Development such as Jetpack Compose support for WearOS and tablets, and upgrades to Android Studio. Enhancements to Chrome DevTools, WebAssembly, and Flutter 3 were also introduced, alongside integrated crash reporting via Firebase Crashlytics, and the launch of Cloud Run jobs and AlloyDB for PostgreSQL. The event also showcased AI-assisted coding research and the AI4Code challenge on Kaggle, underscoring Google's commitment to providing developers with tools and best practices to optimize workflows and inspire innovation across platforms like Android, ARCore, Chrome OS, Cloud, Flutter, Firebase, Google Play, Kaggle, Machine Learning, and the Web Platform.

Google has launched the ARCore Geospatial API, a new tool within its ARCore SDKs for Android and iOS, designed to enhance augmented reality (AR) experiences by leveraging Google's vast mapping data. This API allows developers to anchor digital content to specific geographic coordinates globally, without needing to physically scan the environment, thus saving time and resources. The technology is based on Google's Visual Positioning Service, which uses Street View images to provide precise device localization. The Geospatial API is already being utilized by early access partners such as the NBA, Snap, and Lime to create AR applications across various industries, including transportation, entertainment, and sports. It enables more accurate AR experiences, such as Bird and Lime's e-scooter parking guidance, and Telstra's navigation aids for sports and concert venues. Google is also releasing open source demo apps like Balloon Pop and Pocket Garden to inspire developers to create their own world-scale AR applications.

Google has introduced the Google Pay & Wallet Console, a platform designed to simplify the integration and management of Google Pay and Google Wallet features for businesses. This new platform offers a unified dashboard and a common business profile, making it easier and faster for developers to manage their passes, loyalty programs, offers, and other resources from one location. The console's user interface has been enhanced for better navigation and reuse of business information, and it includes a dedicated section for managing Google Wallet features. Additionally, the console allows for direct management of authentication keys for Smart Tap integration and provides new user roles and controls for improved team representation and permission handling. Early users have praised the console's intuitive design and enhanced user management capabilities. Google encourages users to share feedback to help further develop the platform and invites developers to explore the console and its documentation to facilitate integration.

The Google Meet Live Sharing SDK, announced at Google I/O 2022, is in preview and offers app developers the ability to integrate Google Meet's video conferencing capabilities into their applications, creating interactive shared experiences such as co-watching shows, collaborating on playlists, or participating in virtual dance parties. The SDK, part of the Google Workspace Platform, allows for real-time content synchronization across devices, supporting two primary use cases: Co-Watching, which synchronizes streaming app content for shared viewing experiences, and Co-Doing, which enables users to engage in activities like gaming or working out together. Partners such as YouTube and Kahoot! are already incorporating this SDK into their apps, and developers interested in utilizing the SDK can apply for access through the Early Access Program. The initiative aims to enhance user engagement by allowing app users to introduce new experiences to their social circles, with ongoing improvements planned to refine video content experiences further.

Google has announced enhancements to Google Wallet, providing an easier and more flexible integration for Android developers. The new Android SDK and API allow developers to support a wider range of digital passes, including offers, loyalty cards, gift cards, tickets, boarding passes, transit tickets, and a new generic pass feature. This update enables users to store virtually any pass or card in Google Wallet, which is accessible from the device lock screen on Pixel devices and via the pulldown shade. Developers can create passes using JSON or JSON Web Token without backend integration, and the process is straightforward, involving creating a payload and using the PayClient to add passes to Google Wallet. Comprehensive documentation, code samples, and codelabs are available to guide developers through the integration process, along with an interactive demo for creating custom pass prototypes. Google encourages developers to explore the capabilities of the Google Wallet API to enhance customer experiences and offers resources such as a hands-on workshop and step-by-step codelabs for further learning.

The Google Wallet API, previously known as Google Pay API for Passes, now allows for the digitization of various pass types, including boarding passes, loyalty programs, and more, while introducing support for generic passes that can accommodate cards like membership or insurance cards. This flexibility enables users to design customized pass objects with specific attributes such as barcodes or QR codes, and to manage their appearance through a card template. The API also introduces the ability to group different pass types for streamlined user experiences, such as combining entry tickets, parking passes, and food vouchers for events, allowing users to swipe through grouped passes easily. Existing integrations with the Google Pay Passes API remain functional, and developers are encouraged to explore the new capabilities through comprehensive documentation, codelabs, and tools like the interactive pass builder, which facilitates pass creation without coding.

Google Chat has introduced updates to its API, currently in developer preview, enabling users to programmatically create and populate Spaces, enhancing collaboration and communication within teams. Developers can access these features through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program, allowing for the automatic creation of Spaces tailored to specific business needs, such as new teams or projects. This functionality is demonstrated by a partner, PagerDuty, which plans to integrate the API into its incident management solution, facilitating seamless collaboration by automatically setting up relevant Spaces. The new API capabilities are expected to expand the potential uses of Google Chat in various organizational scenarios, such as help desks, HR, and customer support, by enabling the easy creation and management of collaborative Spaces.

Google's Next Billion Users (NBU) initiative, launched in 2015, aims to bring billions of new users online, with expectations of an additional 1.2 billion users in the next four years. At the I/O event, the NBU team presents sessions focused on creating technology that is inclusive and representative of these new users, emphasizing the need for diverse data collection and understanding the unique experiences of novice internet users. One session, led by Mike Knapp and others from Google's NBU and Responsible AI teams, discusses a crowdsourcing app called Task Mate to gather data from underrepresented communities, enhancing inclusivity in AI products. Another session, featuring Nicole Naurath and Neha Malhotra, explores how design elements influence novice users' experiences and proposes a framework for developing user-friendly products for them. Additionally, Andy Volk and John Kimani highlight Africa’s burgeoning developer ecosystem, showcasing the continent's role in digital transformation and the increasing demand for African developers.

Coral, Google's platform for Edge AI, has announced a partnership with ASUS IoT to expand its manufacturing, distribution, and support capabilities globally. This collaboration leverages ASUS IoT's extensive experience in electronics manufacturing and its established sales and support systems to meet the growing demand for Coral's products while ensuring the brand's integrity remains intact under Google's ownership. ASUS IoT, a sub-brand of ASUS specializing in AI and IoT solutions, will become the main channel for sales, distribution, and support, allowing Coral to maintain its focus on developing innovative, privacy-preserving edge computing tools. This partnership aims to enhance the availability of Coral products worldwide and support the continued exploration of AI-driven solutions by its customers.